A Bad Austen victory dance

Awhile ago,I was shamelessly begging for votes on two writing contest fronts that had about two similarities between them;both had Jane Austen themes and each held the promise of seeing something I wrote become part of a published book.

Well,I am happy to announce that one of my efforts has borne fictional fruit. My entry in the Bad Austen contest was chosen as one of the runners-up(first prize went to the author of Real Housewives of Bath-erly Hills and my congrats to her)and this fall, Bennet Bridezillas will be part of the complete collection to be put out by Adams Media.

I'll be receiving two copies of the book as part of my prize and shamelessly encouraging all of you to buy as many as you can(after all,it should be out in time for the holiday shopping season!). Everyone who voted for my silly little sketch has my sincere whole hearted gratitude and some of my giddy joy at being selected as one of the worthy to be placed in print:





As to the Jane Austen Made Me Do It contest,unfortunately my tale of The Austen Avenger did not make it onto the list of Top Ten finalists. Nevertheless,I am also very grateful to those who voted for me there and wish the best of luck to the future winner.

That book is set to be released this October and I hope that others will join me in sending good wishes to Laurel Ann Nattress,the first time editor of this collection which includes stories by Lauren Willig,Syrie James,Stephanie Barron and Laurie Viera Rigler.

Laurel is the proprietress of the wonderful website Austenprose and a professional bookseller,so you can imagine the delight she's having over being able to offer her customers a work of her own creation. Writing collaborations are exceptionally tricky but with the right chemistry and well chosen words,it can turn into a nice piece of literary harmony:





Part of my thanks must also go to Lydia Bennet,the inspiration for my winning story and one of the silliest girls in England's literary history. While her impulsive nature did her loving family no favors(particularly when it came to Mrs. Bennet's nerves),Lydia did manage to land on her foolish feet in the end.

Another dubious achievement that can be credited to the youngest Miss Bennet is her ability to be the center of attention even when she is truly not in the picture. To pull that off in an age without Twitter or text messaging is a triumph of sorts,altho not of the best kind to be sure. Anyhow,thank you dear Lydia for paving the way for marital mania:





Last but most assuredly far from least,my thanks must be given to Jane Austen. While this small step towards what I hope will eventually become a writing career is nothing in comparison to her legacy,my wish is that it does justice to her work as well as earn a few smiles.

Jane did have a marvelous sense of humor along with her high standards of literature,so perhaps she might not disapprove of a few humble attempts to emulate her style. At any rate,my particular slice of Austen sweetened satire should be tasty to see in an actual book and not just in my eyes with any luck. Thank you all for giving me a much needed boost for my literary spirits and a lovely early birthday present as well: